Coaches

Teams

Rick Anderson

2009 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee - Former Student Athlete

Rick Anderson graduated from Mariner High School in 1975. He played for EvCC in 1976 and 1977, pitching 19 games for the Trojans. After EvCC, Anderson transferred to the University of Washington, playing for the UW baseball team in 1978. He broke into the big leagues in 1986, making his major league debut with the New York Mets. After playing with the Mets for a season, Anderson joined the Kansas City Royals, where he played until 1988.

Anderson is currently a pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins. He was named the pitching coach in 2002, after serving as pitching coach for Class-AAA Salt Lake for seven years. He was also a Class-AA coach and a Class-A coach since he joined the Twins organization in 1989.
Anderson and his wife Rhonda, their daughters Cortnie and Ashley and son Ricky live in Woodbury, Minn.

Additional Recognition: Minor League AAA Pitcher of the Year

Paul Blowers

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee - Coach

Blowers gained his prep experience at Port Townsend, where he lettered in three sports. After high school, he enrolled at the University of Washington, earning a varsity basketball letter as a Husky freshman. He then attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, where he earned four letters in football, and three each in basketball and baseball.

He served as a navigator for two years in the U.S. Merchant Marine, and then returned to the University of Washington – this time as junior varsity basketball coach. After directing the JV team for a year, he accepted a commission in the U.S. Navy.

Blowers was sent to Yokosuka, Japan, where he was athletic director and basketball coach of the largest American naval base in the Western Pacific. After he concluded his naval service in 1956, he came to Everett Junior College, where he served as a physical education faculty member, coached varsity basketball and was an assistant football coach and assistant baseball coach.

After EvCC, Blowers went on to serve as the Dean of Instruction at Fort Steilacoom Community College (now Pierce College), then worked as president of two different Midwest colleges before retiring in 1994.

Dolly Holland

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee - Coach

Dolly Holland (deceased) and her husband Andy Holland were instructors at Everett Junior College from the year it opened in 1941. Dolly Holland worked at Everett Junior College/Everett Community College for 29 years as a physical education instructor and is remembered as a strong supporter of women’s sports. She coached women’s volleyball from 1950-65, coached women’s field hockey and tennis 1949-75, and served as the Women’s Athletic Commissioner 1970-75. She and her husband taught square dancing at the college and at their home.

She was also a leader in Northwest and national athletic and recreation associations. Students remember Dolly Holland as an inspirational instructor and coach who focused on health and wellness and built students’ confidence.

Dolly and Andy Holland’s legacy of giving back to the community continues on at Lopez Island with the annual Spirit of Giving award named for them and given to honor people who provide exceptional service to their community.

Bill McLaughlin

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee - Coach

Bill McLaughlin (deceased) coached football, basketball and track at Everett Junior College from 1946-47 to 1948-49. EJC’s football team won the first-ever Washington State Junior College Athletic Conference (now the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges) title in 1946 after an undefeated season (co-championship with Centralia).

The EJC football team won the title again in 1947 and 1948. Under McLaughlin, EJC also won track titles in 1947, 1948 and 1949. The Trojans were also basketball co-champions in 1948.

McLaughlin went on to become a very successful high school football coach at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland. During the late 1950s, Lake Washington’s Kangaroos won 50 straight games, a Washington prep football record. Lake Washington High School renamed their football field “Mac Field” in his honor in 1984.

Additional Recognition: Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) Hall of Fame, The Herald’s Man of the Year in Sports (1947)

Terry Metcalf

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee - Former Student Athlete

Terry Metcalf played football and track at EvCC in 1969 and 1970. Metcalf was All-Conference two years, with more than 1,800 yards rushing. He holds the NWAACC record in long jump, triple jump and 400M relay.

He went on to play at Long Beach State College and six seasons with the National Football League - 1973-77 with the St. Louis Cardinals and in 1981 with the Washington Redskins. In the 14-game 1975 season, he set a then-NFL record for combined yards with 2,462. He also played three full seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Toronto Argonauts, 1978-80. For the last six years, he has been the head football coach at Renton High School.

Ed Pepple

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee - Former Student Athlete
Updated July 6, 2010: Ed Pepple to be inducted in national hall of fame, by The Seattle Times.

Ed Pepple coached for 52 years, including 42 years as the boys basketball coach at Mercer Island High School. Pepple, who retired this year, was one of the winningest coaches in Washington state history, with a record of 952 wins and 306 losses. Nearly 50 of his players have gone on to play college basketball with two making it to the NBA. Two former players are currently coaching college basketball, at Lehigh University and the University of California. Pepple led the Islanders to state championships in 1985, 1993, 1997 and 1999.

Pepple was named Washington State Coach of the Year seven times. In 1998 the National High School Coaches Association named him National Basketball Coach of the Year.

He has been inducted into several Halls of Fame - Puget Sound Area 2003, Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 2005, Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association 2006 and the National High School Coaches Association in 2006.

Pepple graduated from Lincoln High School in Seattle in 1950. His high school team was undefeated entering the state championship game. He played for the Everett Junior College basketball team in 1951 and graduated from Everett Junior College in 1952. In 1955, he graduated from the University of Utah, where he lettered three years, was team captain of a Utah team that lost to Bill Russell’s San Francisco team in the NCAA’s sweet 16. Utah finished the season ranked 6th in the nation. He lives in Mercer Island with his wife Shirley, who also attended Everett Junior College.

Mike Price

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee - Former Student Athlete

Mike Price is the head football coach at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he’s led the UTEP Miners to the winningest five-year period in the modern era of UTEP football. Under Price's direction UTEP has appeared in a pair of bowl games, earned national top-25 rankings in the month of November twice and had 40 All-Conference selections.

He previously coached at Washington State University from 1989-2002 seasons, leading the Cougars to the Rose Bowl in 2002 and 1997 and the Sun Bowl in 2001. During his 14 years at Washington State, Price coached five players who were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

He was named National Coach of the Year in 1997, and was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year for the three times. He also was the head coach at Weber State University from 1981 to 1988.

At Everett Junior College, he played quarterback for the college’s football team in the 1964-65 season. He went on to play at Washington State University (1965-66) and the University of Puget Sound (1967-68), seeing time at quarterback and defensive back. He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from the Puget Sound in 1969. He added a master's degree in physical education from Washington State in 1970.

Price is the son of legendary Everett Junior College coach Walt Price.

Additional Recognition: (1997) The Herald’s Man of the Year in Sports, Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) Hall of Fame

Walt Price

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee - Coach

Walt Price (deceased) worked at Everett Junior College from 1948-1970 as a physical education instructor and legendary coach. He coached 15 seasons, encouraging and expecting the utmost from each new team.

Price led the Physical Education program until retirement in 1970, capturing more conference championships than any other coach in the junior college circuit.

He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree at the University of Idaho, where he was part of Idaho’s 1927 championship football team. After graduation, he began his coaching career in Firth, Idaho. He then coached at Pocatello High School for five years. In 1938, he went to work for the University of Idaho as the director of freshman athletics, then in 1941 was named assistant varsity coach just prior to entering the U.S. Army in 1941.

In 1946, Price came out of the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel and began coaching at Grays Harbor Junior College. He then joined Everett Junior College. To students and colleagues he was known as a mentor, teacher and friend.

Additional Recognition: The Herald’s Man of the Year in Sports (1960)

Harry Simmermacher

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee

Harry Simmermacher (deceased) joined the faculty of Everett Junior College in 1946 as a chemistry instructor and coach.

He coached golf, and under his direction the Trojans won four consecutive state titles from 1953-56, with runner-up teams in 1957 and 1960. He also coached tennis, and under his direction, the Trojans won the state tennis championship in 1948, 1949 and 1957 with runner-up teams in 1950 and 1955.

Born in Ohio, Simmermacher did undergraduate work at Otterbein College and went on to earn his master’s degree from Ohio State. Before becoming a college instructor, he taught high school and junior high in Ohio.

He retired from Everett Community College in 1973 after teaching for 27 years.

Bob Smithson

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee - Former Student Athlete

Bob Smithson graduated from Cascade High School in 1963 and attended Washington State University before returning home to Everett and enrolling at Everett Junior College, where he played baseball in 1964 and 1965.

Drafted in the 17th round by the California Angels in the 1965 draft (the first baseball draft), Smithson found himself in the Pioneer League playing for Idaho Falls, Idaho. After pitching in the minors for four years, Smithson moved on to pursue his education at St. Ambrose University. He then earned his master's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and started his first teaching and coaching job at Enterprise State Junior College, Enterprise, Ala. in 1973.

Locally, Smithson was the head baseball coach at EvCC in 1981 and 1982. He began his high school coaching career in 1983 at Everett High School and moved to Cascade High School in 1986. During his 14-year career as head coach, the Cascade teams were 207-108 overall and 144-69 in the league. He then served as the athletic director for the Everett School District from 2000 to 2004, and as the athletic director for Oak Harbor High School from 2004 to 2007. He lives in Oak Harbor with his wife, Mary.

Bill Tsoukalas

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee - Former Student Athlete

Bill Tsoukalas was a two-year letterman for Everett Junior College’s baseball team which captured the 1966 Washington Athletic Association of Community Colleges (WAACC) title. He was a top pitcher and helped lead the Trojans to a Northern Division title and 22-9 overall record. He went on to play for Seattle University and played in the Cleveland Indians farm system 1969-73.

Tsoukalas earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1969 and a master’s degree in educational administration in 1976 from Seattle University.

He joined the Boys & Girls Club as an athletic director for the Wallingford club in 1973, and later became the program director for the same club. In 1992, he became the executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Snohomish County, earning the Boys and Girls Clubs of America Contribution to the Profession Award in 2005. He lives in Arlington with his wife Judy.

Ken Tucker

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee - Coach

Ken Tucker took over the golf program at Everett Junior College in 1949 and won three consecutive state golf titles. He was the golf pro at the Everett Golf and Country Club for 42 years. As a Professional Golf Association (PGA) member, Tucker played in two national PGA events and played in the Bing Crosby Pro-Am Tournaments every year from 1937-1962, except when he served in World War II.

Additional Recognition: 1960 Pacific Northwest Golf Professional of the Year, The Herald’s Man of the Year in Sports (1956)

1947 Trojan Football Team

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee - Team

Led by coach Bill McLaughlin, the Everett Junior College Trojans fielded one of the strongest junior college football teams in the country in 1947 by completing the season unbeaten and untied in 10 straight games. By virtue of their unbeaten status the EJC team was awarded the Washington State junior college football championship. They were also invited to the first ever Evergreen Bowl game (the first game in Everett Memorial Stadium) and were the only undefeated junior college team on the Pacific coast.

1966 Trojan Baseball Team

2009 Hall of Fame Inductee - Team

The Trojan's Baseball team won the 1966 Washington Athletic Association of Community Colleges (WAACC) title. They advanced to the WAACC state tournament by first capturing the Northern Division title in league play with a 22-9 overall record. In the state tournament, the Trojans beat Spokane twice to win their first ever WAACC state title. The tournament was played in Centralia.